Your Guide To Surviving In The End Times - From The Editors of ChristianMoney.com

March 2011

03/12/2011

Harold Camping of Family Christian Radio says that he knows the day the world will end and it is only a few weeks away. May 21, 2011 is the end according to Camping. His followers have bought billboard space in dozens of major cities announcing the date that Camping has determined to be Judgment Day and the end of the world.

Camping made a similar prediction back in 1994 but explains that he erred in his calculations. Now he says that he is certain the date will be May 21, 2011.

Most Christians are quick to reference Matthew 24:36 (No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father) when date-setters such as Camping make such predictions. Camping responds to this by pointing out that in the 'last days' God will indeed reveal the timing of his return. He claims to have extrapolated this from his study of the book of Daniel.

After seeing the disaster in Japan this week, the state of our economy, the uprising in the Middle East, we are likely living in what seem to be the biblical end times. Attempting to set a specific date for Christ's return, however, seems pointless and in conflict with Scripture. Agree or disagree, add your comments below.

James L. Paris is the Editor-In-Chief of Christian Money.com and the author of more than 20 books on personal finance. He studied biblical prophecy while a student at Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. Along with completing ROTC survival and marksmanship training, he is certified as a first degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Selling The Mark Of The Beast – How The Antichrist Will Convince The Masses To Willingly Take The Mark.

Bob Yetman, Editor-at-Large at Christian Money.com, is an author & instructor in the realm of personal finance and investing, as well as on topics of fitness and self-defense. A U.S. Army veteran, he has earned a B.A. degree in psychology from Stetson University, numerous licenses and certifications in the financial services industry, and the Certified Fitness Trainer and Specialist in Martial Arts Conditioning designations from the International Sports Sciences Association. He is the co-author of the yet to be released book, Selling The Mark Of The Beast – How The Antichrist Will Convince The Masses To Willingly Take The Mark.

03/07/2011

The issue of mail security is relevant to all of us, but it is particularly important to that person who may be preparing for a life characterized by survival conditions; survival-oriented people are that way, in part, because they have made certain determinations about the nature of the country and where it is headed politically and socioeconomically, and so may be seeking (and sending) information that they would like to keep from prying eyes, be they the eyes of thieves and neighbors, as well as mail carriers and other federal officials.

There are several things you can do to help grant greater security, overall, to the mail you send and receive. For starters, do not use “old-fashioned” unlocked suburban mailboxes with flags on the side for sending and receiving mail. These are fast becoming relics from a time when the world was a much safer, more benevolent place (or at least America was). While your life will become more tedious by handling your mail in a secure fashion, the threat to your security from using entirely accessible mailboxes to send and receive your mail is just too great to ignore.

On that note, if you do not live in a neighborhood that has secure mailboxes and mail receptacles, go get a post office box somewhere. You can certainly get one at the post office, but you would be fine in getting one at an established private facility (like a UPS Store). By having a location like that from which to send and receive mail, you both add to the security of your mail, as well as also to your anonymity (which can be important for the survival planner).

For the survivalist, the threat of the mail snoop is perhaps an even greater concern than the threat provided by the garden-variety mail thief. There are a lot of clever ways that feds and others can see what’s inside your mail without even opening it, so make life harder for them. Beyond wrapping your mail inside of a blank piece of paper before depositing it in the envelope, go a step further and be sure the paper you use is dark and of a heavier stock; just doing something like that will essentially prevent anyone from being able to read your mail unless they actually open it.

That said, the ultimate problem when it comes to snooping is the possibility that an “official” will open your mail on the basis of current federal law that allows them to do just that. Any mail deemed “suspicious” can be opened by federal agents, without any warrant or other official permission required. Beyond looking closely to see if the envelope you receive appears to have been tampered with, one thing you can do is to scribble on it with a marker of felt-tip writing instrument; if the ink runs, there’s a chance the envelope has been sprayed with chemicals designed to surreptitiously gain access to the contents.

One of us has had so much mail theft in our neighborhood that we have installed a mailbox alarm. When the mailbox is opened the base unit (inside your house) signals four loud chimes. If you are home during the day, this is an excellent way to keep your mailbox secure.

Preparing for a society in distress involves all sorts of preparations and precautions, and doing all of these things, in sum total, will add to your normal, daily workload. In the end, however, the peace of mind that comes with realizing the heightened security of your mail cannot be overemphasized, particularly as you continue to expand affiliations, both business and personal, with people, merchants, and organizations that might be regarded as out-of-favor with so-called mainstream society.

James L. Paris is the Editor-In-Chief of Christian Money.com and the author of more than 20 books on personal finance. He studied biblical prophecy while a student at Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. Along with completing ROTC survival and marksmanship training, he is certified as a first degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Selling The Mark Of The Beast – How The Antichrist Will Convince The Masses To Willingly Take The Mark.

Bob Yetman, Editor-at-Large at Christian Money.com, is an author & instructor in the realm of personal finance and investing, as well as on topics of fitness and self-defense. A U.S. Army veteran, he has earned a B.A. degree in psychology from Stetson University, numerous licenses and certifications in the financial services industry, and the Certified Fitness Trainer and Specialist in Martial Arts Conditioning designations from the International Sports Sciences Association. He is the co-author of the yet to be released book, Selling The Mark Of The Beast – How The Antichrist Will Convince The Masses To Willingly Take The Mark.